Resource Author: Serious Fraud Office (UK)


The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office provides an index of publicly listed enforcement actions, including matters related to foreign bribery. Access brief overviews of bribery-related cases that include the nature of the investigation, date of the investigation announcement, status of the case and associated case press releases. Cases are classified under criminal investigations, proceeds of crime, and deferred prosecution agreements.

In January 2020, Airbus entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) which included a fine of €991m in the United Kingdom (UK), as part of a total €3.6bn settlement across France, the UK and the United States for five counts of failure to prevent bribery. The conduct took place across Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Ghana between 2011 and 2015.

In 2016, Rolls Royce agreed to pay a fine of over £500 million in a deferred prosecution agreement relating to bribery in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand. Rolls Royce received significant discounts in penalties for cooperating with the Serious Fraud Office in the investigation and implementing strong anti-bribery policies and procedures after the misconduct was uncovered.

In 2019 the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom (UK) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with a small UK resources sector company concerning bribery in South Korea. The company was required to disgorge its profits from the bribery but did not receive a penalty because of its small size and the fact that it had thoroughly investigated and self-reported the issues.

In 2015 Standard Bank PLC entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom to pay penalties of over US$25 million and US$7 million of compensation in connection with its role in an equity raising in Tanzania. The case highlights the risks of using agents to help win government contracts.

Authorities in the United Kingdom (UK) can investigate and prosecute foreign bribery that took place outside of the UK. This includes where UK citizens are involved, if some of the conduct occurred in the UK or for foreign companies that 'carry out business or part of a business', or are listed in the UK. This portal puts you in touch with the correct authorities in the UK if you wish to report foreign bribery. An A-Z of company cases is included.